Barkov, Jones, Mackinnon, or Drouin

[GetThePuckOut]

Even though Calgary's record is not good, I'm still not convinced that it's gonna be a top pick. Maybe not even top ten. Because even though we're losing games we're still not showing to be a bad team.

 

[LetsGoFlames]

This draft reminds me A LOT of the 1993 draft. I hope for his sake Mackinnon isn't another Daigle but the similarities between the 1993 draft and this coming draft, exactly 20 years later, are undeniable. I've used the order the players were selected in '93 and added the player I think they're comparable to beside them, giving a look at what the order would be in the '13 draft.

Daigle/Mackinnon (Highly skilled offensive C. Maybe move to wing?)
Pronger/Jones (Monsterous, all around D to build a future around)
Gratton/Monahan (Big, gritty, dominant C with leadership ability)
Kariya/Drouin (Undersized, speedy, offensive spark-plug winger)
R. Niedermayer/Lindholm (Decent size, wheels, all around game)
Kozlov/Barkov (Big, skilled and advanced C with huge upside)
Arnott/Nichushkin (Big C with 2 way skill, grit and leadership)
Sundstrom/Shinkaruk (Smallish winger, big skill, some questions)

Those top 8 picks look pretty reasonable, I think. Barkov's a bit low at 6th but then again, you never know. And Zach Fucale, playing the part of Jocelyn Thibault as the only G to go in the first round, would be selected 10th overall. Right before the first 2 defensemen go. Witt from the WHL (Pulock), and Jonsson- the smooth skating, big European with great 2 way game (Ristolainen). I don't think Ristolainen falls out of the top 10, and I don't think Fucale goes in the first half of round 1, but stranger things have happened.

BTW, the Flames took Swedish born Winger Jesper Mattsson in '93. Hopefully we do better with this years pick.

 

[Ashasx]

Daigle was never very skilled. He always had hands of stone and zero hockey sense. People thought he'd be a star in the NHL based on his speed alone.

MacKinnon is an elite skater, shooter, passer, and has elite puck skills.

 

[TheHudlinator]

Daigle was never very skilled. He always had hands of stone and zero hockey sense. People thought he'd be a star in the NHL based on his speed alone.

MacKinnon is an elite skater, shooter, passer, and has elite puck skills.

I disagree Diagle had a ton of skill in junior people thought that he would continue to grow I mean the kid had 110 points in 66 games as a 17 year old. The problem was he never adjusted to playing against the size and speed of nhl players, nor did he have an idea what defense was. He dominated almost every other league he played he just wasn't a first liner in the nhl.

 

[Skobel24]

If we have the first pick, we'd be stupid not to take MacKinnon. To me, anyways, he's the clear choice. Nothing against Jones, Barkov, and the rest, but MacK just seems like the right choice.

 

[LetsGoFlames]

Daigle was never very skilled. He always had hands of stone and zero hockey sense. People thought he'd be a star in the NHL based on his speed alone.

MacKinnon is an elite skater, shooter, passer, and has elite puck skills.

At the time, the general opinion was that Daigle was the best player to come out of the Q since Mario Lemieux, (Mackinnon-Crosby comparisons). They noted his blazing speed, killer offensive instincts and flashy skill-set as the main reasons he was the consensus #1 pick. I clearly remember that Daigle over Pronger was far less disputed than Mackinnon vs. Jones is.

 

[LetsGoFlames]

I disagree Diagle had a ton of skill in junior people thought that he would continue to grow I mean the kid had 110 points in 66 games as a 17 year old. The problem was he never adjusted to playing against the size and speed of nhl players, nor did he have an idea what defense was. He dominated almost every other league he played he just wasn't a first liner in the nhl.

I agree with this and would like to add that his heart was just never in it. He didn't have the fight and drive to achieve the best levels of hockey excellence. We seem to agree though, that it wasn't his skill-set that held him back.

 

[LetsGoFlames]

If we have the first pick, we'd be stupid not to take MacKinnon. To me, anyways, he's the clear choice. Nothing against Jones, Barkov, and the rest, but MacK just seems like the right choice.

Despite the Daigle comparison, (which I don't think will ring true for Mackinnon), I fully agree with this. If it was my call with the #1 pick this year, I'd be taking Mackinnon.

 

[Beats By CoRD]

If we have the first pick, we'd be stupid not to take MacKinnon. To me, anyways, he's the clear choice. Nothing against Jones, Barkov, and the rest, but MacK just seems like the right choice.

I agree.

 

[Calculon]

Hmmm, the scouts may be turning on this depth of this upcoming draft afterall:

The good news is there’s some high-end young talent available in the 2013 NHL draft – Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones and Jonathan Drouin at the head of the class – for the bottom-feeders to feast on. The bad news? Contrary to popular belief, the 2013 draft isn’t nearly as deep as scouts initially projected the past couple of seasons.

But for the 7/11 teams out there (those just missing the playoffs and destined to draft in the No. 10-14 slots), a mid-first round pick this year isn’t any more special than any other year.

In discussion with dozens of scouts the past few weeks as we prepare for our annual Future Watch issue, The Hockey News has learned the much-ballyhooed draft of 2013 is more sizzle than substance. It’s nothing special, after all.

“The 2013 draft is not as strong or as deep as we first thought,†said one scout, echoing the thoughts of many others. “It’s a deep top 10 and an OK first round, but I don’t see a lot of depth. Is it deeper than 2012? I’m not so sure.â€

The 2012 draft was considered the weakest in several years.

The article also illuminates how the new draft system is supposed to work:

The NHL changed the rules of the draft lottery so all 14 non-playoff teams have a shot to win the first overall pick. But after that solitary roulette wheel has been spun, picks 2 through 14 go in reverse order of regular season finish.

 

[Remember2004]

I read somewhere that this year if you finish dead last you only have a

25% chance of getting first overall compared to last year it was a 48%

anyone else know anything about this? Or I'm I on something that I

don't know of? Haha

 

[TheJudge]

I read somewhere that this year if you finish dead last you only have a

25% chance of getting first overall compared to last year it was a 48%

anyone else know anything about this? Or I'm I on something that I

don't know of? Haha

That's correct.

This is because under the old rules you could move up a maximum of four spots by winning the lottery. As a result, the team who finished last would get to keep 1st overall if any team who finished 6th last or better won the lottery.

Under the new rules, the winning team picks first - so the odds of last place keeping first overall are diminished.

 

[StreakingRed]

I read on twitter this morning that the Flames are heavily scouting Shinkiruk. I can't remember who it was now, but sounds like he's the one they have their eyes on.

 

[TheHudlinator]

Hmmm, the scouts may be turning on this depth of this upcoming draft afterall:







The article also illuminates how the new draft system is supposed to work:

I also saw this, its like clock work with the draft hype, in September "This is the deepest draft since 04", then we February or March "It;s nothing special".

 

[Johnny Hoxville]

I read on twitter this morning that the Flames are heavily scouting Shinkiruk. I can't remember who it was now, but sounds like he's the one they have their eyes on.

I think he's gonna be a good player. I love the way he plays and his attitude is great. I'm just wondering if he'll end up being anything more than a Callahan type of player (which would be great). Depending on where we draft I'd be very happy for the Flames to select him, I would still prefer Monahan though.

 

[Miikka Kiprusoff]

We don't really need another center, we aren't doing too bad this season so far. Jones would be my pick, but I REALLY doubt we finish that low this season.

We're 16th in the league for faceoff percentage, not too shabby for a team that finished 30th last season. We need a gritty top 2 D-man to finish this team off.

I'm confident that Janko will bring us good fortune, Gaudreau, Horak, Byron, all other players that are centermen and two look pretty damn good.

 

[DevilsAnimal*]

Who ever would play best with Baertschi

 

[Svenner]

Funny how the scouts are going from over hyping this years draft to kinda "under hyping". Of course looking back at the 2003 draft it is a tough class to beat, however I still think this will be a good class and a better class than 2012. Any pick in the top 10-15 is still a promising player. So whatever direction this team makes should be fine as long as they don't trade the pick. Obviously making the playoffs is the first priority but if we don't its still nice to know we got a shot at the first pick (even though its slim).